Show Affirmative Action Plan Not Ideal But It Helps Tlie Salt Lake Tribune 00 r serting brown or yellow faces or someone in a skirt It means adjustments some changes an education process It means opening up horizons allowing new ways of looking at things The status quo is much easier For all of us who fall under the affirmative action plan it s a discon- certing future On the one hand one might be advanced faster further On the o'her hand one has to live with the question Was one advanced because he or she really was the best candidate for the position or because the employer was pressured into it’ Sure I'm a feminist Sure I've been discrimina'ed against I doubt there's a person male or female who can t say the same thing for any one of a number of known or unknowr reasons - bad breath sloppy clothes being smly in the morning just showing up for work Somewhere in all this there s got to be a better way Education and being made aware of the problem is one albeit a slow one that hasn't worked in the past To a degree it's like the union movement When management became too heavy-handeand unfair unions grew When unions become too heavy-handeand make too many demands they lose their punch Now that management has shown itself to be unfair and insensitive in its hiring practices affirmative action comes into play My granddaughters may bear the brunt if the pendulum swings the other way But if job opportunities become more equitable then nothing or no one will stop them from achieving their dreams I hope I live to see that day suggested to the boss that he move his desk over a little to make way for mine He didn't smile This came after the ruling by the US Supreme Court on an affirmative action plan for women that employers may give special preferences in hiring and promoting female workers to create a more balanced work force Fast rulings have upheld affirmative action plans for minorities The ruling gets employers off the hook for any past discriminations They should be thrilled However like all things mandated it wouldn't have been necessary at all if employers had taken a voluntary and more equitable approach to hiring practices in the past The question now is whether it will simply put a real or implied quota system on employers Ideally hiring should always have been based on the best person for the job weighing a number of things like past work record test scores (if a test is required) experience how the person will fit into the workplace and potential achievement For those who have been in the position of doing the hiring white males predominately it has always been easier to do what's most comfortable hire white males Comfort for far too many lies in being surrounded by mirror images of themselves The discomfort zone comes with in I ursMArt iheBM W? Veir Saturday March 28 1987 A15 O’M ah£AD of NEWS TXAPl'N flt - i Nt'L' A ' 'i&f TtYJlVANDlfcTAN'Y Shoes' UT inC£EASLP SEUTVLkSW'PTO ljEiD£Nr MAS m 5UCM AN DESH’E W KC&rsON HX? AKjE? Our Of Business A r NLMJ? Punning You Snow in ALL rut Hxts KWS- A- - Drawn and Quartered i wrote 111 STOCKS AW? 80IWP5 d NOW I'M OUST d IN aau M)rrcocwAruf BONDS i0t1 Now I Get the Message By Joseph Laitin Washington Post Service WASHINGTON Eleanor Randolph who has the second assignment on The Washingthat of ton Post this side of Beirut covering the activities of her colleagues in the fourth estate — interviewed the ombudsman last week on a matter of journalistic ethics which is akin to a cobra's interrogating a diamondback on the real meaning of - most-hazardo- - life ’ The Wall Street Journal broke the story about Barbara Walters' serving as courier for arms merchant Manucher Ghorbanifar by carrying a private communication from this international rascal to President Reagan Randolph decided to do a catch-ustory with emphasis on the ethics involved In her tjuest for 'expert'’ opinion she wandered down the hall to the ombudsman's office My reaction to her questions was immediate and strong Walters had stepped across the line Her carrying the message gave it credibility and Joseph Laitin is ombudsman of The Washington Post ensured it of an “audience” by the president After all Walters is not your everyday news correspondent It was the ombudsman's instant judgment that Walters should have turned the missives over to her boss and let the management decide As all the aspects began to surface it turned out to be a far more complicated subject than one would suspect What Walters did was not unethical per se The question is whether it affected her capacity to do her job of reporting There is no overall code one can impose here Any rule is a bad rule except the rule of reason Even before the advent of TV news reporters rubbed elbows with the high and the mighty and frequently confused themselves with world leaders and other powerful figures TV made them active participants rather than detached observers In many cases — like Walters’ — the correspondents were just as well known and as influential as the news sources themselves Only one thing bothers me about Walters’ extracurricular activity Just Say It seems that 6No’ in the estimation of the historical value beauty and uniqueness of the Hotel Utah that to destroy it would be a violation of all pride and values of heritage Utahns feel This building has been a historical landmark to the people of Utah and the thousands of visitors to our state it is known for its elegance style and service to the public It is a dishonor to think to the original builders that now this building is to be “gutted” and reformed from its state of pride and grandeur to a cold computer-age office building Our ancestors built this for us and to see their dreams and good works demolished is unpardonable! Salt Lake City does not need more office space Why ruin a landmark? People of Utah let the dreams of our heritage keep coming alive by keeping our landmark Act now Say “No" to the closing of Hotel Utah! KATHRYN ALDER ANDERSON Consolidate South High may close while many suburban schools are overflowing i' Any communication between an international arms dealer — especially one involved in a continuing frontpage story — and the president is news Did she not owe it to her viewers to share this information’ After all that's what ABC is paying her for not to be as one TV executive told Randolph “the world's most expensive courier” It was fortunate that my remarks to Randolph wound up on the cutting-roofloor my observations were far too smug Worse with further thought I recalled that I was not all that pure myself I had once served as a messenger between two of the most powerful communist leaders in the world outside the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc It was in the postwar era in the Philippines The government had placed a price on the head of Luis Taruc head of the Hukbalahaps armed wing of the Communist Party With Associated Press correspondent James Halsema I ventured into the jungles of Luzon to seek out Taruc for an interview We found him while troops searched the area in vain He was cocky slight of build a man of strong convictions gentle in manner who freely admitted having ordered executions The last evening of our stay in the barrio we dined in front of a roaring campfire his men guarding the perimeter with automatic weapons Hukbalahap leader Taruc who had lived his whole life in that area talked about his hero — one Lombardo Toledano a powerful labor leader in Latin America whose Mexican union was responsible for much of that country's social and economic reforms He asked that if I were ever to go to Mexico to please convey a message to him — that left-win- RTTURM 15TME GjKlRT St "HUTS m tttatx IT'S CUSTOMARY : TWE T®D£NT$ KMOO rrfe THE ONE TIME OF TO ‘STREW THE TRUTH RECITAL WHEN RUJ WOW ALOW6 AMD LET ME DO MY TAKE g Lombardo Toledano had shaped much of his thinking and that one day he would like to arrange a meeting Some months later in Mexico City waited until the burly egocentric Lombardo Toledano with a voice like a bullhorn had answered his last question at a news conference and cornered him to fulfill my mission as a courier 'Head of the he asked I explained “An admirer of mine?" he said Lombardo Toledan n beckoned to his press aide “Cr the name and adhe sail “and dress of that felic him on our mailing list” 1 PEG AN- - RESIGNED CEAGAMS ncrth-fire- d MANAGEMENT SM6: 006 AND CAN TO DO A YtXl GCf THE BEST PEOPLE THEM DO rC tXJ LETT Huk-what- pt yet the Legislature failed to consolidate districts In this time of changing demographics and enrollment patterns there is little logic in Salt Lake City Ogden Provo Murray Logan and Park City maintaining their own school districts separate from their suburban surroundings It is even sillier for Summit Sanpete and Juab counties to have more than one district In Salt Lake County alone a move to consolidate would eliminate three administrations and allow for more efficient use of existing school buildings The savings could go directly for higher wages to vastly underpaid school teachers There is no need for the state to maintain obsolete bureaucratic empires in this time of fiscal crisis DOUG DANSIE Finest Performance If anyone had written a movie script incorporating all the goings-oin Washington Iran Switzerland and who knows where else they would have been laughed at If perchance it had been made into a movie it would have been strictly a “B" picture But it's for real The Public Forum Tribune Readers’ Opinions folks and we have the "B" actor heading the cast BETTY HANSEN Forum Itules Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writer’s full name signature and address Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days Preference will be given to short typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writer’s true name All letters are subject to condensation Mail to the Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake City Utah 84110 n Moneysaver My wife works near the Cottonwood Mall and is able to shop every day on her lunch hour at the ZCMI store Because of this I was elated when I heard that the LDS Church is getting out of the hotel business and that the new policy is to avoid business enterprises that compete with the private sector If this policy is carried forth and offices are built in the ZCMI store I figure it will save me about $300 a month RICHARD K HOWARD tance than this Pandora's box he so casually opened up? He must face up to the turmoil that has resulted the biggest blunder of many he has made during his tenure in office Perish the thought that South High School will end up empty another unsightly skeleton along State Street a twin to the Lincoln Junior High School So lovely to look at so typical in our city What will happen when the present wave of reaches high school age? We know The educators will be back lobbying for more taxes to build more high schools And where? to It will be cheaper in the long-rukeep South High School functioning and do away with all the bickering n Keep South Open Bravo for the three school board members who rethought the closing of South High School It is refreshing to know some of the school board members have a conscience and some good common sense More study is needed Superintendent John Bennion looked a bit muddled on the evening television news when he said he would like to see the controversy over Soifth High School put behind him He said he had other important matters to attend to I wonder what he could possibly have sitting on his desk that would be of more impor ROLAND BLACK Well Done UDOT The Utah Department of Transportation has one of if not the best financial units in the nation I have worked in other transportation departments and have consulted in more than half the states in the union Utah comptroller's office far exceeds the capability dedication production and loyalty of others Through a difficult and challenging effort Utah implemented the first fully integrated financial system in i i the country on July 1 1986 This effort assured continued federal reimbursement to Utah of $150 million to $200 million a year Federal funds would have been terminated last July 1 if the system had not been completed The comptroller’s staff with the support of many other L'DOT and other state personnel worked six and seven days a week hours a day (sometimes even more) for almost two years Most of the staff was not or compensatory given overtime time off All vacations were can-- ' celled All funds were properly controlled and spent Unsual situations were quickly recognized and corrective actions were taken to assure compliance with law and sound management practice Urt- founded incorrect accusations of “not minding the store” would not de- serve response if they had not been publicly viewed The judgment and ability of the accusers should be questioned — not the doers and producers The comptroller's staff is to be commended for an outstanding job They are highly professional and certainly deserve positive recognition Congratulations for a job well done WILL McCOY CPA CIA Comptroller Utah Department of Transportation 10-1- 5 I ' ' ’ ' |